Reportage: Lebanon: Cluster Munitions

Human rights observers claim that up to a million "bomblets" were left scattered across southern Lebanon following the 2006 Hezbollah - Israel conflict. Cluster bombs have killed and injured thousands of civilians and continue to do so today. They remain dangerous long after a conflict has ended. One-third of all recorded cluster munitions casualties are children. Sixty percent of cluster bomb casualties are injured while undertaking their normal activities.

Representatives from over 100 countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions into international law on December 3rd, 2008, following 18 months of intense negotiations known as the "Oslo Process." The convention bans the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. However, key countries such as the United States and Israel, two of the largest users of cluster munitions, as well as Russia, China, India and Pakistan have yet to sign the convention.